Recology Oregon Recovery, located in Portland, Oregon, has partnered with JC-Biomethane (JCB), an anaerobic digester (AD) facility located near Junction City, Oregon. JCB is the first biogas plant in the Pacific Northwest to produce energy from an anaerobic digester through the use of post-consumer food waste (food scraps).

Recology Oregon Recovery delivers approximately 16,000 tons of post-consumer commercial food waste feedstock to JCB annually, representing 97% of all inbound material. The AD process utilizes this feedstock to produce biogas that provides clean energy, and also helps capture greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise accumulate if the material were sent to landfill.

Recology Oregon Recovery’s feedstock enables JCB to generate over 12,000 megawatt-hours of clean renewable energy; enough to power approximately 1,500 homes in Junction City annually.

In addition to the energy created through the AD process, Recology is able to divert over 375,000 cubic feet of waste from the landfill annually. That is enough to fill more than 4 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The AD system developed by JCB is a true testament to our vision and mission – a world without waste, by finding the best use of all resources. The AD process creates several byproducts which JCB has found creative and environmentally conscious ways to utilize.

The feedstock is supplemented with fats, oils, and greases during the initial phase of processing; creating a nutrient-rich liquid byproduct. This liquid is sent to local farms for use as fertilizer, supplying over 2000 acres, and offsetting the use of synthetic fertilizers. The solid material remaining toward the end of the AD process gets filtered out before the biogas is transferred to the extraction point, creating a fibrous byproduct. JCB then sends this fibrous bi-product to a local composter for use in soil amendment or compost blends.

Recology and JCB are literally transforming food into fuel, and more. AD is an effective strategy for closing the loop, and finding the best and highest use of all resources, including your food scraps. Composting ..